Crimson Winter
by Tritone
Summary: The keys to our past are the keys to our future, you just have to find them. A story about a certain shinigami in an earlier time, when finding himself was the first thing on his mind. This is the rewriten "Life as a Shinigami" Discontinued.
1. The Beginning of the End

Life of a Shingami

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

_Pure white snow…stained crimson… The pain, after shock… And the cold on skin… Eyes endlessly staring at cloudy skies, surrounded by white._

"You can't stay here… It's a… place… 'll… ke… t…" _Then black…_

* * *

><p>"Hello?" <em>'A voice?'<em>

…

"Are you alive?" _'It's a girls voice…'_"Erm… or dead, I guess." _'Dead?'_ 'Ha, ha, wake up silly! You'll get sun burnt if you lay there all day!"

He slowly opened his eyes, surely there was a girl starring down at him. Her dark brown hair was tied back into two small pigtails; her big eyes were filled with the innocence of a small child. "Uh?" Yes, a very intelligent thing to say when meeting some one for the first time. "Hi." _'Idiot…'_

"Oh you're awake!" She said, her eyes beaming with curiosity. " I thought you were a goner! ... Well, besides the fact that you were breathing… I'm Hinamori Momo by the way. I live here with Oba-san*. Do you have a name?" A smile spread across her face as she lent him a hand.

"I'm Toshiro, Hitsugaya Toshiro." He said surveying his surroundings curiously. Toshiro was surrounded by greenery, the sun shone through the branches of the trees surrounding them. "Where am I?"

Momo pointed to a small town past a few trees, "You're in Junrinran the first district of west Rukongai. See, you're dead."

"Dead? I feel fine hinamori-san."

"I'm not lying, really! When I first came here I didn't believe it either but I don't have any memories before the day I woke up and neither can anyone else. I bet you can't remember your past life either." She puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

Toshiro did exactly that and thought for a moment trying to remember anything of past events, but like Momo had said, his mind was blurry. It seemed that only two things had popped up in his memory: his name and a date, December 20. Of course the date could mean anything at this point but it was probably enough to hold on to.

Momo ginned at his hopeless expression, "I won't say I told you so."

"Hey I remember my name…"

"Is that all?" She giggled.

"A matter of fact there is, I remember a date. December 20th… and uh… yeah." He felt his face heat up and Momo's expression showed that he didn't only feel his embarrassment but it showed as well.

"If you say so Shiro-chan-"

"Sh-Shiro-chan?" His face growing redder at the nickname.

"You can stay with me and Oba-san if you want, she's really nice so I'm sure you'll get along." She said completely ignoring Toshiro's discomfort.

As they stepped foot into the town Toshiro noticed a large wall that seemed to reach the sky with its horrendous height. It took him moment to realize he had been gaping and quickly shut his mouth but not before Momo noticed.

"That's the Seiretei wall," she began, clasping her hands together. "Jidanbo told me that the shinigami live there but I've never seen one before so I don't know. But, it must be important 'cause there's a huge door near by, and Jidanbo guards it."

"Shinigami?"

"Yup. He said that they are the ones that bring us to Rukongai."

"How come no one has seen them if they bring souls to the after life."

"I have no idea. Maybe it's magic!"

"Well anything could be true at this point." If they were dead and could still move than magic wasn't far fetched either.

"Oh there it is!"

The house Momo was heading to was a little ways away from the main area of Junrinran it sat on a small hill overlooking the town. It was a small house with one floor but had a porch facing west, around it was a small garden filled with different kinds of greenery. Momo opened the door and motioned Toshiro forward.

The inside of the small house was well kept, it included a small wood burning stove, a small table, a closet, and a few shelves with plates, pots and cutlery. A fresh aroma came from the stove where an old woman was cooking. She had white hair tied back into a bun, she looked frail but a smile still lit up her face.

"Oba-san," Momo said walking up to her. "We have a guest."

Oba-san's smile grew as her small eyes lay on Toshiro.

"I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed.

"You can call me Oba-san,"

"Yes, Oba-san."

"Don't be so formal we're all friends here."

Momo spoke, grabbing the old woman's attention. "He can stay with us right?"  
>"Why of course, we wouldn't want him wandering around all night now do we."<p>

Momo turned to Toshiro her smile widening at her new family member.

"Oh and Hinamori-chan."

"Yes, Oba-san?"

"Diner's ready can you set the table? Is stew alright with you Hitsugaya-kun?"

His stomach growled obviously he hadn't realized he was starving until she mentioned food. Momo giggled at the sound he felt face turned a bit pink. "Yes stew sounds great, thank you.

* * *

><p>"Jidanbo's just this way." Momo said in her carefree voice. "For a gatekeeper he really is dolt, so don't say I didn't warn you." Her small widened as they reached a clearing past a few trees. Toshiro didn't need a closer look, for the man was huge. His shear height alone equaled to that of the Seireitei wall making Toshiro feel much smaller than he actually was.<p>

On his waist were two very large axes which were 4 times-if not, five times-larger than Toshiro. The man looked very ominous if it weren't for his weird hairstyle (including the beard) and his wide smile.

"Momo-chan!" He said in a very strong and gruff voice.

"Hello Jidanbo-san." She replied in her overly cheerful voice.

Then Jidanbo looked at Toshiro his smile widened, "And what's your name Chibi-san?"

Toshiro scowled, "It's Hitsugaya Toshiro."

Jidanbo laughed, "That's a strong name kid. Say, I haven't seen you around when'd you get here?" He asked his smile never leaving his face for moment.

"Yesterday actually."

"Come anytime I get bored just sitting here you know."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

"Come on Shiro-chan let me show you the rest of Junrinran. Bye Jidanbo-san!" Momo said grabbing Toshiro's arm and leading them away from the Gatekeeper.

"It's not Shiro-chan." Toshiro mumbled.

...

When they stepped foot in the busy streets of the village Toshiro could tell something was wrong. As they passed by, he could feel their stares or here their whispers. Momo seemed oblivious to the acts of the spirits. Toshiro looked around instantly noticing the difference between them, their dark hair in contrast with his white, and their brown eyes to his turquoise.

Momo walked up to two kids, a girl, and a boy who were talking to each other quietly. "Tatsukichi-san, Ayumi-san, this is Toshiro Hitsugaya, he got here yesterday."

Tatsukichi was a tall boy with short black hair. Ayumi was a bit shorter than him she had shoulder length dark brown hair. Tatsukichi held back a scowl upon seeing Toshiro while Ayumi's eyes widened.

Tatsukichi was the first to speak, "I-is that so?"

"N-nice to meet you Hitsugaya-san." Ayumi said pulling of a smile smile.

_Do I look that scary?_ Toshiro thought. "A pleasure to meet you as well." He tried to sound more enthusiastic but his voice betrayed him.

Some had turned to stare at them their words barely reaching Toshiro's ears.

"Hinamori-san," Toshiro said, Momo, was making small talk with her friends turned to look at him. "Let's go. You wanted to show me the river right?" He turned a blind eye to the stares he was getting from the nervous two and started walking down the road.

"Uh… oh yeah. Bye Tec-chan, Ac-chan." She gave a small bow to the two then ran to catch up to Toshiro.

...

The river shone crystal clear in the suns rays, fish swam without a care in the world. For a moment, Toshiro wanted to join the fish and leave the rest of the world behind.

"What's wrong Toshiro?" Momo asked her face full of concern as he stared at his reflection in the water.

"I'm fine Momo." He then tossed a small pebble into the water and watched the fish swim franticly. "Oba-san must be worried. We should head back."

* * *

><p>Sorry, I am SO late. Like I said I was on vacation, so I wrote it down in a note book. I'm actually writing Chapter 2 right now, I'm half way. There was some complications in typing my dear story including how slow I am at doing so, then I lost the booklet but I found it thankfully-under my bed. How'd it get there? I have no idea.<p>

Hopefully I will be able to get the second Chapter up soon, about a week I think. I will notify you on my profile if anything's changed.

* Oba-san- Granny

Ciao!


	2. Demons and shinigami

On the last chapter I said Life as a Shinigami because I typed it before I found out I couldn't have the same name-obviously! Therefore, Crimson Winter is the new name. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Crimson Winter<p>

Chapter 2: Demons and Shinigami

"_His hair is white."_

"_His eyes are unnatural."_

"_He's so distant."_

"_Like ice."_

"_Demon."_

"_He must be…"_

That was all Toshiro ever heard when he walked through the village. The spirits never cared if he heard them; to them he wasn't even human. Today was worse however, Momo was busy running an errand for Oba-san, and so he swallowed his pride and went alone. Toshiro didn't want them to think he was afraid and besides, he didn't get a good look at the town yesterday.

There were many stores in Junrinran including a bar, it always smelled like alcohol, and the people that came out were usually drunk. He wondered why they were so fond of such a vile drink. The only thing he did like about them was that they were to drunk to notice Toshiro.

Voices dragged Toshiro out of his thoughts, people huddled into the streets surrounding two people in black hakama, and swords hung from their waists.

"They're shinigami!" One said rather loudly.

"They're from the Seireitei" The actions of the spirits reminded Toshiro f a flock of birds chattering to no extent. Momo had told him that the shinigami don't come often; obviously, they were a rare sight.

One of the shinigami laughed, amused by the fanfare he was getting. There was rather tall and had blond hair that spiked up in all directions. While he enjoyed the company of the spirits, his partner just scowled mumbling something to quiet to be heard. Instead, he looked around lazily, one eye covered by his jet-black hair.

The black haired shinigami spoke up grabbing the attention of those around him, "There have been Hollow sighting in other districts, we came here to warn you of them."

The blond glared at his partner, "Hey, don't scare them!" he whispered then turned to the spirits, "You've don't have anything to worry about really, no hollow has ever made it as far as Junrinran. But as Akira said you should still watch out for anything suspicious." That made every one whisper to each other some took quick glances at Toshiro.

"You're so ignorant Kaido." Akira said in a low voice.

"What did you say!" Toshiro swore he could see sparks fly between the two.

"You're making a scene."

"Oh, I'll show you a-hey!" Akira ignored him and continued to speak to the spirits.

"Even if you are from the first district you should be on the look out for large white monster about the size of a house. They have white masks and a hole in their chests. Keep an eye on your family and don't stray too far from your homes."

Kaido sighed as the shinigami left the spirits.

It didn't take long for Toshiro to notice Momo among the crowd. She had an amazed look upon her face making him wonder whether she had heard the message at all or just gaping at the men walk by.

"Toshiro!" She said as her eyes found where he had been standing.

"Hello Momo." He sighed hoping her outburst didn't grab attention.

"Aren't they amazing!" Momo practically squealed.

"Who?"

"The shinigami of course. They're so cool and strong and-I-wanna-become-a-shinigami!" His hope of not being heard went out the window, but he couldn't say he didn't see it coming.

"Come again." He asked not really hearing her last words.

"I want to become a shinigami." Her cheeks grew red from embarrassment.

"…"

"Toshiro?"

"T-that's great Momo." He managed.

"I'm going to go tell Oba-san 'kay Toshiro! Bye!" With that, she bolted towards the house leaving a very dumbfounded Toshiro behind. He new at that moment that the days before her departure were slowly counting down.

…

"Isn't the sunset pretty Shiro-chan?" Momo said to her friend as they sat on the porch eating watermelon.

"Stop calling me Shiro-chan!" Toshiro retorted not bothering to hide his agitation.

"Oh come on can't I at least have some fun before I leave."

He let out a sarcastic sigh, "_That _Momo is easier said than done."

Momo humphed, "You're just jealous."

"Now why would I be jealous of Bed-wetter Momo." He said calmly taking another piece of watermelon.

Her face then resembled and overly ripe tomato after hearing the recently true remark. "He-hey!" She pouted, "You're so mean shiro-chan!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"You'll regret that. When I go to the Shino Academy you'll miss me being around."

* * *

><p>He was surrounded by ice, a world void of the living. Snow fell, wind howled for a moment it sounded like a voice…<p>

"!" Toshiro woke in a cold sweat; he could feel himself shiver from the dream. '_It all felt so real.'_ He thought the memory of the dream still crisp in his mind.

Thankfully Momo and Oba-san were still asleep not even stirring from Toshiro's outburst. The dream not only felt real but it was as if he had been there before. The place could have been from his past life, he thought. It was possible.

The more He thought about it the more he confused himself further. Eventually a yawn escaped his mouth and he was asleep.

* * *

><p>"Shiro-chan!" Momo's voice sang, waking Toshiro from his sleep. "Why don't you come play with me, Tec-chan and Ac-chan?"<p>

"No thank you Hinamori-san." The white haired boy said nonchalantly following with a yawn.

"But you never do!" She said pouting.

Toshiro sighed, Hinamori was too naïve to realize that not every one lived as carefree as she did. "I just don't feel like it." He said lazily.

"You never play!"

"That's right."

We-hay! Don't agree with that!"

"I won't lie."

"Don't you want to spend time with me before I leave?"

Toshiro held his tongue for a moment than inwardly sighed, "Yes, but you should have fun than worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"… Oh, all right, Shiro-chan."

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, it's not Shiro-chan!" He said not bothering to leave the annoyance out of his voice.

"You'll always be my little Shiro-chan." She laughed as she left the house to meet with her friends.

"If that's true, than you'll always be bed-wetter Momo!" He yelled after her, the comment barely reaching the girl's ears.

...

The ice below his feet, the harsh wind whispering, and the cloudy sky. Snow fell blissfully around him. The familiar place, tingling his senses. He took a few steps forward the frozen grass and snow crunching beneath him. When he walked ahead, he felt the as if the whispers grew louder and the wind grow harsher.

He kept walking despite his mind's protests, some beyond the field of ice and he couldn't help but follow.

"Shiro-chan?"

"…"

"Get up Shiro-chan!"

Toshiro opened his to see Momo above him. Her hair was pulled back in its usual pigtails but she wore a red and white hakama. _'Oh no' _he thought dreading the day already; she was finally leaving for the academy. It would just be Toshiro and Oba-san from now on.

"Bed-wetter Momo would you get out of my face?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"Stop calling me that!"

"Than stop calling me Shiro-chan."

"You're _so_ mean! Humph! Give my regards to Tec-chan and Ac-chan 'kay."

"Why don't you?"

"'Cause I'm going to late! Ah, speaking of late! Bye Shiro-chan!" She said waving franticly as she left.

"Bye Bed-wetter Momo!" He yelled after her, making her trip over nothing.

"She's leaving and you still tease her?" Oba-san said to Toshiro as he folded his blankets.

"She'll be back on her breaks." He let out a sigh.

...

A few months later.

"Hey! Toshiro!" Momo's voice rang in excitement upon seeing the white haired boy. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"You saw me last week." He said with little emotion. "You nearly blew me up with your kido."

"That was an accident!"

"The results were the same though." Besides Oba-san's been looking forward in seeing you." They started walking towards the house.

"You wouldn't believe it Toshiro! I met a captain!" She made a very high-pitched squeal.

"Captain?" He asked ignoring the girl's annoying outburst.

"I've already told you, haven't I? A captain of the Gotai 13! His name was Sosuke Aizen. Aizen-taichou* is amazing! And he patted my head!"

"You said that you were going to the living world right?" He said changing the subject. "How did it go?"

Momo's cheerful attitude faltered, Toshiro was about to ask what had happened, but she interrupted, "It was okay." She managed a smile. "Let's go, Oba-san probably worried." She hurried off as if nothing happened.

* * *

><p>As the years went by Momo's visits became less and less. Whenever she did come however, she would always go on about Aizen and how she would join his division once she finished the academy. Toshiro couldn't help but dislike the captain, somehow he seemed fake, to perfect to be real. Momo had practically fell in love with him the moment they met.<p>

In fact, she had been so occupied with the academy that she didn't notice how weak Oba-san had gotten. He didn't mention it to her of course, for her to worry would only make things worse. He couldn't help but wonder whether the Momo of five years ago would have noticed.

Toshiro's dreams became more vivid over the years as well especially since Momo joined the academy. His Dreams were colder and the wind howled loud in his ears. A blizzard had started rendering his vision useless. By now he was sure could hear a deep voice speaking to him barely but it's words were swallowed by the wind.

...

On this particular day Toshiro sat alone by the river, a presence had been bothering him since he woke up. The air seemed to be thinker but just slightly. Now that it was past noon, it felt closer. Not wanting to stick around from curiosity Toshiro left for the house.

...

In his dream, the wind blew strong enough to prevent Toshiro from moving any further. The voice tried to yell over the din but it was unable to reach his ears.

"Who are you?" Toshiro called out, and at that moment, a large ice dragon appeared barely visible in the snow. It seemed to be fighting the wind as well but they didn't get any closer.

"!" Toshiro awoke suddenly not because of the dream but because the presence he felt that afternoon. He left the house to check it out. If he had stayed for a little longer, he would have noticed the fresh frost that covered the floor.

Once outside Toshiro could see a dark silhouette in the trees, he walked a little ways away from the house not to endanger Oba-san. However, the movement caught the monster's attention. It slowly turned it's masked head when it spotted Toshiro it turned around completely revealing the hole in its chest. The hollow let out a small breath filling the air with the smell of rotten flesh. Its mask was white and had large fangs; red eyes glowed in the dark from its dark eye sockets. It let out a small roar and charged.

Now Toshiro wasn't stupid and did what any one would have done; he high tailed out of there. He ran through the woods but no matter how hard he tried to get away the monster still gained on him. _'Screw my short height!'_ the thought seemed almost funny. The air grew colder as snowflakes started to fall from the sky. Then he felt something hit his back with such force and speed it through him into a tree.

The taste of iron was in his mouth and warm blood oozed from his head. Every inch of him felt as if it was on fire. The hollow brought its arm down again, Toshiro put his arms over his face, but the impact didn't come. It screeched in pain, its arm incased in ice. When the hollow moved the arm shattered in a million pieces. In rage, it charged to attack its prey.

"Oh no you don't, ugly." A flash went by Toshiro's vision and the hollow split directly in two before it turned to dust blown away by the wind.

A figure in black walked up to Toshiro, it was a woman wearing the same hakama the men were five years ago. She was a busty woman with strawberry blond hair that reached her shoulders; her bright blue eyes glistened as her pink scarf swayed in the wind.

"Wow, you're a mess kid! That mean hollow did a number on you!" She spoke as if to a small child. "Don't cry I'll bring you to the fourth so we can get you treated."

Toshiro scowled-well as much as he could. "I'm not crying and I'm not a kid, I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya." He managed to say trying to ignore the pain in his head.

"Then you're strong!" She said still not dropping the childish voice. "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, it's a pleasure to meet you~" Rangiku picked him up carefully not to agitate his wounds. In a flash, they stood in front a tall building with a large number four on it.

"Hey! I need a medic here!" She called out as they entered the grounds. The din seemed to lull Toshiro to sleep.

...

When Toshiro awoke, he was in a bed with white sheets. A thin layer of frost lay around him melting in the morning sun. The pain from the other day was gone leaving no trace of any wounds.

"Good morning!" Rangiku said loudly by Toshiro's ear startling him. "That was a rough night! You nearly froze me solid!"

"M-me?" he asked baffled.

"Yeah, you should control your reiatsu while you sleep you know. You have a visitor by the way." She stepped aside revealing a tall man with short black hair.

He wore the same Hakama as Rangiku did but on top was a white haori. The man smiled scratching his hairy chin. "Hi kiddo! I'm Isshin Kurosaki captain of the tenth, and I guess you've already met my beautiful lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto. You were attacked by a hollow right Hitsugaya." Toshiro only nodded, allowing him to continue. "We have reason to believe that the hollow was attracted to your Reiatsu."

"Reiatsu?" Toshiro asked.

"Reiatsu is power emitted by spirits, but not all have it. It allows you to use kido and have a zanpakuto. Your reiatsu is uncontrolled; you could seriously hurt someone, like that nice old lady that lives with you."

For the second time, Toshiro's eyes grew wide; never had he thought that Oba-san's weakness had been because of him. All this time he had stayed to keep her company but ended up killing her instead.

"The academy starts tomorrow and we would like to enroll you there so you can learn how to control your reiatsu."

"Alright." Toshiro said not seeing any better way to tackle his reiatsu.

"We already have your books and uniform ready. When you've changed Ran-chan will go with you to see your Oba-san. You can visit on brakes so it's not like you're never going to see her again." Isshin and Rangiku left the room leaving Toshiro with a small package.

...

"I'll let you talk in private." Rangiku said to Toshiro as they stood in front of Oba-san's small house.

Toshiro nodded in response and went in alone.

Oba-san was kneeling in the middle of the room with a small smile on her face. He subconsciously tugged at the sleeves of his blue and white hakama, not knowing what to say. He kneeled in front of her, his head low.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I've joined the academy so I can learn to control my reiatsu. I'm sorry, Oba-san."

"…I see." She said, still smiling. "I'm glad. You've been holding back all this time haven't you? Because you were afraid that I'd be lonely all by myself. But the fact that you're in self-denial just because of me… to Oba-san, that is the most painful thing."*

...

* -taichou, a horofic put on the end of a name, means captain.

* Quoted from chapter 304.1: Bleach special /manga/B/Bleach/chapter/304.1/23 

Wow that was a long chapter, well the longest I've done anyway. Above is the sight I found Toshiro's past. I've quoted from there so you know that Oba-san's words aren't my own.

The third will probably take longer than this one did 'cause I was half way through writing this chapter while I was typing the first. I hope that it won't take long.

Please tell me if you notice mistakes especially spelling! Thank you!

Constructive criticism is great, I don't mind flames either.


	3. Taking the First Steps

Crimson Winter

Chapter 3: Taking the First Steps

"Okay, quiet down. Get in front of one of the shinigami… are you even listening?" The man looked around at the many kids in the large room, all exited, nervous or kami* forbid overly confident. It seemed that they hadn't heard him; either that or they were intentionally ignoring him. Now usually he wouldn't have a problem with it, but today hadn't been one of his best days. He had slept in, spilt coffee on his new uniform, fell down a flight off stairs, and now he had to deal with the new bratty kids. Oh, how he wished he could just go back to bed. He had a very small fuse today and wasn't feeling as patient as he would usually be. The man felt a pressure point appear on his forehead, "GET YOUR ASSES IN LINE!"

_That_ got their attention, in fact it looked as if he scared a few, _'they better be'_ he thought, letting a small smile stretch across his face. "I am Takumi Shun; I will be observing your strengths and will place you in the class you belong to. If you fail the entrance exam… well, better luck next year." He chuckled at the face some of the kids were giving him. "Now that that's cleared up, I better get this going. You are all lined up in front of a shinigami who will measure your reiryuko, if you do not have any don't bother continuing."

(A few minutes later.)

Once Toshiro reached the front of the line the shinigami gave him a transparent ball that rested in his palm. He looked at it curiously, it looked normal enough, but how was it going to determine his reiryuko? His question was answered as a blue smoke generated inside it growing almost to the size of the sphere its self. The shinigami just looked at it then wrote something down on his pad of paper and asked; "Name?"

"Uh, Hitsugaya Toshiro."

"You pass, move onto the next room." Toshiro gave the shinigami the sphere and left for the next part of the exam.

Zanjutsu was next; another shinigami lazily passed him a practice sword, looking as interested in the event as the last. It was obvious they didn't want to be there.

Takumi stood at the front of the room and waited until there were no more people walking in. He turned to a female shinigami by the door, "No one else?" She simply nodded in response standing tall and professional. "All right." Takumi continued, "As you have all probably noticed you will be performing Zanjutsu. It's relatively easy, we will put you into pares and you with simply spare. It will be short, I don't care if you swing the sword in any direction you can think of; just show us what you can do. Once you are finished give the sword to one of the shinigami by the door, and move on we can't sit here all day."

Toshiro stood in one of the small practice areas in the large room. In front of him was a very skinny boy; the boy gave him a questionable look seeing as Toshiro was about a foot and a half shorter than him.

"I'm Hayato Akio, don't think I'll go easy on you because you're a kid." Akio pointed his sword at Toshiro.

"My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro, and I never expected you to. But don't expect me to go easy on you out of pity." He just had to say it, the boy did look quite pitiful standing on such thin legs and holding a practice sword thicker than his arms, but Toshiro knew he wouldn't appreciate the comment.

"Oh we'll see when I beat the crap out of you." Akio sneered.

"Same goes for you." He retorted, lifting his practice sword up in front of himself as well.

Akio made the first move bringing his sword down on top of Toshiro, who brought his up to block using his left hand for support. Akio's attack strength was relatively weak, seeing as he had no strength to begin with. Toshiro easily pushed Akio away and watched him carefully. The taller boy kept attacking pointlessly not bothering to look for an opening; Toshiro just dodged or countered his attacks with ease. Toshiro countered another of his attacks then moved to the offence.

As Akio charged, again Toshiro simply dodged to the side and brought his sword down across his back. The boy hissed in pain as he felt the wood come down on his back, he gave Toshiro another glare. Toshiro then charged, as Akio held his sword up to defend instead Toshiro quickly ducked and hit Akio across the abdomen, causing him to drop to the floor clutching his stomach. Toshiro placed the tip of his sword to Akio's neck signaling that the match was over.

"I won't say I told you so." Toshiro stated as he looked down upon him keeping his icy demeanor.

"Fuck you." Akio hissed glaring at the victor.

"Okay, move on." The woman from earlier said, picking up Akio's sword in the process.

"Break a leg, shrimp."

Toshiro handed his sword to her, ignoring the boy currently on the floor.

The next part of the exam was like the last; a large room with sparing sections marked on the floors. The Hakuda exam was almost exactly like the Zanjutsu matches, minus the sword of course. He simply had to fight another participant until there was a victor, although he had less luck with who that was.

His opponent was a very large, black haired person, nearly two times Toshiro's size. The man looked down upon the small boy with his dark eyes and scoffed. "You should be happy you made it this far, but your good luck ends here. It's Katashi Isamu, who are you kid?"

"Toshiro, Hotsugaya Toshiro." He mentally sighed; he had hoped he'd be able to get the entrance exam done quickly so he could graduate quickly, but his desire was utterly crushed by the man in front of him.

"Are you sure you can manage?"

"I'm hoping."

Isamu allowed Toshiro to make the first move. He ran towards Isamu he used his speed to his advantage, as he was able to duck under Isamu's well-aimed punch. Toshiro managed to hit him in the side with a kick barely fazing the large man. The man then brought his fist down on Toshiro missing by millimeters and making a fairly large dent in the floor where Toshiro had just been standing. He looked at the spot warily; if it weren't for his reflexes, his head would be the one with the dent in it.

Toshiro dodged another powerful punch from Isamu, he used the opening made by his attack and jumped off of Isamu's arm. Toshiro hit the large man in the forehead with a well-aimed kick. Although he misjudged his recovery time and ended up plummeting to the ground by Isamu's left hand. Toshiro could have sworn something had cracked somewhere along his back. He then kicked the back of Isamu's knee as hard as he possibly could, causing the man to fall forward.

A nearby shinigami signaled that their match was over, when Toshiro realized just how bad the idea of tripping Isamu was. 'That hurt like hell!' Toshiro screamed in his head, trying to keep his composure besides the large scowl etched on his face.

"You're not hurt too bad, are you kid?" Toshiro heard the man ask.

"I've seen better, that's for sure." Toshiro retorted as he lay staring at the ceiling, he ignored the pain in his back and foot as he slowly made his way towards the door. "And it isn't kid, it's Hitsugaya Toshiro."

…

All the participants gathered in the courtyard, Takumi and a few other teachers stood at the front of the crowd. They seemed to be calling out names of students as they passed them each a schedule. However, to Toshiro's disappointment, he was stuck at the back and being on of the shortest, he couldn't see or hear them. He then decided to make his way to the front hopefully he wouldn't be noticed by the other students.

He squeezed into gaps between people, stopping every so often to listen for his name. When he had finally made it through the crowd he was standing directly in front of Takumi. The teacher looked at him questionably. "I haven't seen you before. Your first time?"

"Um-y-yes… sensei." Toshiro replied, he inwardly cursed himself for stuttering.

"Are you Hitsugaya?" Takumi flipped through a few of his papers.

"Yes, I am, sensei."

The teacher smiled finding the schedule he was looking for, "Congratulations Hitsugaya, you have made it through the exam, on your first try none the less! You have been put into the advanced class, good luck." Toshiro was then handed the schedule, "It has all your classes listed, your barracks room and your teacher's name. Classes start tomorrow; don't be late."

"Thank you, sensei." Toshiro bowed to his superior, still a little surprised that he actually made it though the exam.

* * *

><p>"What!" Rangiku's voice rang through the afternoon. She stared at the white haired boy as if he grew a second head. "You got in on your first try! Top class no less! It looks like we have a protégé among us!"<p>

"Don't say that Matsumoto-san, you're embarrassing me." Toshiro replied, trying to keep his calm demeanor. The exams had just finished. They were sitting on the porch in the academy dorms; it was late afternoon and the sun hung over west Rukongai. A few clouds drifted lazily above them as the talked.

"Maybe you'll even graduate in a year!" Rangiku said enthusiastically.

"Eh? Is that even possible?"

"Why of course it is!" Rangiku said pointing her finger at Toshiro dramatically. "I even know someone who graduated in a year, he holds the record for the earliest graduate."

"But it usually takes six year, I mean, just because I'm in the advanced class doesn't mean I'll graduate early."

"Well you won't know if don't you try right. Besides, you'll have to work extra hard if you want to keep up, what a pain huh." She sighed.

"Well if you would excuse me Matsumoto-fukataichou, I need to take a visit to the library." He stood up from where he sat and turned to Rangiku. "Thank you for the advice."

"Wait, your going to the library? But school hasn't even started! Why don't you just take a brake and relax?"

"I'm not a procrastinator Matsumoto. I'll need all the information I can get if I want to get out of this hell whole."

"That's the spirit Shiro-chan!"

"Not you too."

"Eh?"

…

Toshiro hadn't been in a library before but it had been like he had thought it would be-more or less. Books littered the shelves in an orderly fashion, and the librarian sat at the small desk by the door. She took one look at the boy and sighed, she hadn't been expecting some one so early in the year. "I'm Kiku Haruka if you need any help I'll be here. I will also sign out your books under your name if you need be. Just don't make any noise."

"I understand." He replied as he strode away from the depressing librarian. Toshiro found a table out of sight by the window; he sat down and glanced outside. The student all hung around in groups talking or playing some sort of game, Hinamori wasn't among them.

Toshiro had known she graduated at the end of the semester but he hadn't heard from her since.

He decided to ignore the students and turned to the textbooks in front of him, immediately grabbing the one about reiryoku and reiatsu. Freezing his classmates on the first day would make a very bad impression.

Toshiro flipped to the first page:

Reiryoku is the amount of spiritual energy a body or soul possess. Reiatsu is the spiritual pressure a person utilizes in order to use kido, Shunpo, shikai or any other attack or defense that is made by spiritual pressure. Reiyoku is the overall potential of the shinigami, whereas Reiatsu is the power the shinigami uses.

'_Well that sure clears up a lot, now doesn't it.' _He thought as he flipped through the book some more, looking for something about suppressing it. It was defiantly going to be a long day.

…

A few hours had pasted and the sun was setting making the sky light up in vibrant colours. Toshiro sat at the same table he had been hours ago, twenty finished books sat in stack on the table. He put down another book with a sigh. After he had read all he could about reiatsu, he found himself searching up all the other subjects, and ended up staying much longer than he expected.

After putting all the books back in their respectful place, he took out a few advanced books and left for his room.

The halls were filled with an empty silence as expected of this time of day. The sun bathed the academy in an orangey light as it slowly sunk out of sight. Toshiro knew he had probably missed out on diner but he wasn't feeling in the least bit hungry. He briefly thought about his Grandmother and wondered whether she was doing fine even though it was only a day. Hopefully, Momo hadn't forgot to visit her.

Toshiro approached his room; to his enjoyment, he didn't have a roommate and ended up with the room to himself. He unceremonially flopped face down on his bed, not bothering to move the books that had been placed on the floor.

* * *

><p>Toshiro stood in the snow; the wind blew roughly around him as snow fell densely from the gray cloudy skies obscuring his vision. He saw the dragon emerge through the snow.<p>

"_**Boy! I am…"**_He heard the Dragon say but the din cut it off.

"_I can't hear you!"_ Toshiro called out.

"_**Hyo…"**_

* * *

><p>The class was full of the voices of new students; some just fooling around while others were bragging about one thing or another.<p>

"Oh you'll see!" One voice boomed over the din. "I'll definitely become a captain just you wait, Nori."

"Don't you think that's a little bit of high hopes? I mean we're only in our first year." Hideyoshi Nori replied with a sigh.

"I'm not hoping! I know I will!"

"But, Taichi-san…"

"Shush, Nori, you can not stop the glorious light from shining down on me! I will show every one here my amazing…" Taichi Shouta when on about his glory; completely oblivious to the woman staring at him angrily. In fact, no one seemed to notice the seething brunet.

'_First years…' _Izumi thought in light disgust, _'they're all so naïve, do they actually think that their years in the academy would be a piece of cake? I'll just have to beat some sense into them.' _She picked up a fairly large book from her desk, _'If I aim just right…'_

"-Then every one will envy my greatness and- **Fwump!**"The book had planted itself on Shouta's face, causing him to fall of the chair he was previously perched on and landed with a terribly loud crash on the wood floor.

Every one in the room turned to Izumi simultaneously.

"Get to your seats or you'll receive the same fate as this kid." She said smugly as the student hastily sat down on a nearby chair. "If this is seriously the advanced class you're all going be in a whole lot of trouble I'm telling ya. I am Honoka Izumi; I will be your teacher for the year so you'll have to put up with me. Since you are in the first class I expect a lot of work from all of you."

Toshiro sat at the back listening to Izumi go on about the behavior of advanced student and how she would expect a lot more from them. If every year was like this, he didn't know if he would be able to make it through six years.

"We might as well start with kido since that will show you how to use your Reiryoku. Open your books to page 3 and read the explanation on Reiatsu and Reiryoku, if you have any questions you can ask me, other than that I don't want to hear a word coming out form your mouths."

...

The day continued as Toshiro sat through his classes, none of his subjects were hard at all. He was able so make a Shakkahou on his first try, even if it missed the target by meters. Zanjutsu was by far his favourite class since Izumi had explained Zanpakuto spirits. She had told them that many shinigami couldn't even hear their Zanpakuto until their sixth year, but Toshiro was sure he could hear his Zanpakuto by his reoccurring dreams. The students had received an *asauchi in order to try and contact their Zanpakuto. It defiantly wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Toshiro!" A very exited lieutenant called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Matsumoto-fukataichou, please call me by my sir name; we are definitely not on a first name basis." He sighed, "why are you here anyway?"

"Don't be such a grouch! Why can't I come visit you?"

Toshiro scowled, he had defiantly expected a lieutenant of the Gotai 13 to be more professional, and not-well… like Rangiku. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Work!" She said in horror. "Why would I work?"

He felt a pressure point appear on his forehead, she was always able to push his temper over the edge. "You're a lieutenant, of course you have work!"

"How do you expect me to work, I'll just get taichou to do it."

"Sometimes I really do wonder how in the hell you got promoted to lieutenant." He stated quietly so Rangiku couldn't hear. "Speaking of which _I_ have work to do, I would appreciate it if you didn't bother me."

"Hm? You already got an acauchi! Are you going to try and contact your Zanpakto?"

"Well I'll try, but even if I don't I can try in my sleep. We better get going the teachers really hate it when we stay up past curfew." He said as he started to head towards his room.

"Bye~!" Rangiku called enthusiastically.

"Good night."

* * *

><p>Toshiro found himself in his inner world yet again. He felt calmer knowing what the place was. The snow blew around him, as the wind seemed to try and separate him and his zanpakuto.<p>

"_What is your name?" _

"_**I am Hyo…" **_The Zanpakuto was cut of by the wind yet again.

* * *

><p>(Extra!)<p>

Toshiro found himself in his inner world yet again. He felt calmer knowing what the place was. The snow blew around him, as the wind seemed to try and separate him and his zanpakuto.

"_What is your…" _Toshiro started, but suddenly he remembered his grandmother telling him, '_it's common courtesy to tell someone your name before you ask theirs.'_ _"I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, it is a pleasure to meet you!" _ He called to the zanpakuto, trying to make a short bow but it nearly sent him flying from the force of the wind.

"… **You are very polite today…"**

* * *

><p>Wow, that took a while to write! School started today so I didn't have time to finish it earlier. Sorry it took so long! I was just going crazy over high school, at least I don't have French this semester-I really suck at that subject, I don't know why, the info goes through one ear that out the other. I don't have history 'til grade ten luckily. I'll work on the next chapters as much as I can between homework and school, probably on the weekends.<p>

Yes, I know I added an extra, couldn't help myself.

*Kami: god

*Asauchi: nameless zanpakuto.

Please note that in japan people introduce themselves by their last names first-I know this by watching bleach,along with other anime and manga.

Oh yes, I have found an ultra amazing reference for a map of the seireitei, please take a look at it because the story will be going by that reference. The picture is called Seireitei it's by boomerangmouth on devianart. The links I wanted to provide aren't working neither are they even showing up on this page for some reason, sorry for the inconvenience.

(Hopefully the link works, if not just copy that and paste it in your search engine)

I hope that this is long enough for you~!

I can't really say a date that chapter four will be done but I'll try!

Well, not-so-happy first day of school!


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